Why group indoor rowing is the next big thing

When it comes to rowing, the UK is pretty good at it. From gold medal winning Olympians like Sir Steve Redgrave to our Oxford and Cambridge University boat crews, it’s fair to say we know what we’re doing. And although we’ve made a name for ourselves out on the water, the indoor rower, favoured by CrossFitters to improve their aerobic capacity, is also quickly becoming a staple of fat-burning conditioning finishers seen across gym floors.

Lawrence’s clever mix of strength exercises, focusing on big movements such as snatches, squats and burpees means you have no option but to work hard

But while the capital in particular has seen a surge in the number of boutique fitness classes combining a treadmill and strength-focused floor exercises, up until now there hasn’t been a class dedicated to the erg’s benefits in a class format.

That’s where Meta-Row comes in.

Taking place at London’s new functional training studio in Mornington Crescent, Metabolic London, Meta-Row is a class thought-up by owner Lawrence Hannah. The class is a brutal test of full-body cardio on the rower combined with weighted strength drills on the floor.

The challenge

Men's Health's junior fitness editor, Michael Jennings, was given an exclusive invite to take on the class. Here's his account:

"Walking into the class, I felt quite confident. Like most people, I regularly use the rower in my workouts, usually to warm-up or finish off my session. But after strapping myself into the seat at Meta-Row, I soon found out the class takes indoor rowing to a whole new level.

"At Meta-Row you thrive off the pressure of a class environment. If everyone else is on course to meet the target distance of 1000m in four minutes, you don’t want to be the one to let the team down. With Lawrence shouting out how far you should’ve covered already and how long is left, you have no choice but to ramp up the intensity further.

"When the four minutes came to a close, thankfully, I just hit my target, clocking up 1,050m. However, the short-term joy was soon replaced by the realisation that it was straight into strength work on the floor. The class works on the structure that as one group takes on the rowing interval, the other group tackles the strength section. There's no let-up. At any point."

MH Verdict

The benefit of working both your cardio on the rower and building muscle with weights on the floor is a winner. And one massive draw over treadmill-based classes is that the erg is a lot less stressful on your joints. Lawrence’s clever mix of strength exercises, focusing on big movements such as snatches, squats and burpees means you have no option but to work hard. But that’s exactly what you want from a class. Sign up for a session and expect Lawrence to take you to the pain cave. Happy rowing!

Meta-Row runs every weekday at 7:40pm and at 10:15am on Saturday and Sunday. To sign up for a class at Metabolic London visit: metaboliclondon.com

Men's Health, Part of the Hearst UK Wellbeing Network
Men's Health participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.